Study Session
by birsima
Summary: "Madeleine Fenton had captured Danny Phantom. Or rather, persuaded, slightly bribed and with only minimal threats convinced the elusive ghost to come with her to be studied." Maddie observes Phantom to understand his human-like appearance better.
Madeleine Fenton had captured Danny Phantom. Or rather, persuaded, slightly bribed and with only minimal threats convinced the elusive ghost to come with her to be studied. Despite her mistrust in all beings ectoplasm, she was mostly convinced Phantom wouldn't hurt her; he was still, after several years of haunting Amity Park, clinging to his 'hero act' and trying to convince everyone he was the 'good guy'. Harming one of the town's leading ghost experts would be harmful for the image the ghost was trying to keep up, not to mention that Maddie was armed with ghost weaponry and a skilled fighter to boot.

Phantom was currently in the Fenton lab, sitting cross-legged four feet above the metal floor, waiting for Maddie to find a notepad and a pen. Maddie had noted that the ghost was not as wary of her and his surroundings as she'd expected he would be, and was the first thing she wrote down after finding a suitable notepad and sitting on an office chair in front of the ghost, who in turn was studying her with wide eyes.

"I'll have you know I activated a ghost shield around the lab, so no funny business or escape attempts," she said, eyes darting between her writing and Phantom's face. "I'll let you out after I have enough material."

Phantom's face turned from its neutral expression to a lopsided smirk, displaying teeth too white and sharp for a human. "I know," he said with his echoing voice, the lab's metal walls amplifying the effect. "I appreciate you not trying to lock me in a cage though."

Maddie was slightly taken aback by the ghost's expression. Sure, she'd seen the very same trademark grin on several occasions -both on camera and on the go- but never so up close. Phantom _was_ rather elusive, after all. The simple detail on Phantom's face was incredible: The way the corner of the ghost's mouth wrinkled slightly, the chaps on his lips, the pores on his nose, the slight dimples that formed on his cheeks, the veins visible on his eyelids. Maddie was furiously writing down her observations. Phantom was no doubt a lot more detailed and human-like in his appearance than any other ghost she had ever seen.

"What are you writing?"

Maddie was rudely awakened from her writing frenzy by a pair of brightly glowing green eyes too big and wide to belong to anything living right up to hers. Maddie shrunk back, squinting at the sudden green brightness and kicking her chair a foot or two backwards.

"Notes on your appearance," she replied and shooed the clearly amused ghost further away. "You have more human detail on your face alone than I've ever seen on any ghost before. You even have veins. Ghosts don't have veins, they don't need them. Why do you?" She questioned.

Phantom frowned, as deep in thought. After a moment he shrugged. "Don't really know," he answered. "They didn't teach ghost biology in school back in the day, and I doubt they do now either. You're the scientist here."

Maddie sighed. Count on the local ghost boy to be helpful. "According to our studies, a ghost's appearance is created from their self-image," she began. "That image is formed from the remnants of the ghost's memories and from how they otherwise view themselves. No ghost can remember their former appearance or recreate a new face for themselves in such biological detail as yours. And even if it were possible, a face that well remembered would have _normal human proportions_." Maddie locked eyes with Phantom to bring across her point even though the superfluous neon green luminescence burned her eyes. The ghost crossed his arms and turned his head and gaze to face a wall on Maddie's right. "My eyes are just fine," he mumbled. " _Yours_ are too small."

Maddie shook her head and focused on her notes once again, letting her study material sulk in peace. She wrote everything she had noticed down: the details on the ghost's irises, the light shining from his retinas, the single hairs on his white lashes, eyebrows, and hair, the slight freckling on his skin that was a shade or two greener than the rest of his face and seemed to move on its own accord, the skin tone that would be human if the liquid beneath were red instead of radioactive green. If it weren't for the skin tone, the size of his eyes and the ever-present white aura that surrounded the ghost, Phantom might've passed as a human. The thought made Maddie shudder.

She averted her eyes from her notes and back to the ghost, only to find him trying to reform his spectral tail as another hand instead of legs, with alarming levels of success. He then proceeded to high-five his new black-clad and noodley pseudolimb. A quick note about said limb later, Maddie decided it was time to question the ghost again.

"Phantom, put that thing away and focus."

The ghost immediately turned back to Maddie like a seal in the water, his lower half forming back into legs. "Sure thing Mads," he grinned.

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, whatever. Maddie."

Maddie nodded slightly to herself. "Now, I want you to tell me what you remember about your death."

Phantom visibly shuddered and buoyed himself a few feet backwards. "I try not to think about it," he said after a short silence.

"But you remember it?" Maddie wasn't sure the ghost would remember, but he nodded nonetheless. "Most ghosts do, but it's not something we reminisce fondly."

"Can you tell me what you remember?" Maddie had learned that with Phantom, the threats and rudery that got answers from most ghosts only gained her snark and overall careless teenage behavior. The best approach was, surprisingly, normal human conversation. Very unusual for a ghost, but Phantom was by far the most bizarre ectoplasmic entity Maddie had ever run into. Maybe hearing about the conditions of his death would help in deciphering his oddities. She focused again on Phantom, who seemed to have spaced out, luminescent eyes unfocused and an empty yet slightly pained expression on his face.

"Do you know that thing doesn't really protect you?"

Maddie frowned. Was he threatening her?

"The jumpsuit, I mean," Phantom added and turned his vacant gaze back to Maddie. "Against larger amounts of ectoplasm. For smaller splatter maybe yeah, but the big stuff?" he lifted his eyebrows, making his already large eyes seem even wider and gave a small empty laugh. "Especially if it's electrified. Getting drenched in that stuff's a real mood killer." Phantom laughed again, still hollow but a tad heartier than before. " _Mood killer_..." he mumbled to himself, before continuing in a cheerier voice. "You weren't the only ones to build a functional ghost portal, you know."

Maddie pieced together the pieces of information the ghost had given her. "Are you telling me that not only has someone stolen our designs for the portal, but that you _died_ in one?"

Phantom nodded slowly, arms wrapped around his legs and avoiding eye contact again. "Going through one is just fine," he told. "but being inside when it turns on? I wouldn't recommend it even for my worst enemy." Another small laugh. Maddie was sure the ghost was making puns again, but she lacked the context. Phantom's attitude was rather annoying, but she could see why the teenage population had rooted for him since year one.

The high amount of ectoplasm present in his death might explain the detail on him though.

 **AN: I always had the headcanon that nobody connected Danny's two identities because his ghost form had slightly different features, like spooky big eyes and greenish skin.**


End file.
